Stephen: Come on, Ash! I'll drive. Give me the keys!

Ashlie: Err, why won't it start? Did you leave the lights on last night?

Stephen: No, I didn’t, Ashlie.

Ashlie: The car won't start. And Stephen was supposed to give me a lift to the shops.

Stephen: I think it might be the battery or maybe that petrol thingy.

Ashlie: OK, Stephen. Which one's the battery?

Stephen: Erm... is it that one?

Ashlie: Erm, that's the radiator.

Stephen: How old is this car anyway? It's always breaking down!

Ashlie: And we never know how to fix it. Come on. I'll see if I can find a mechanic and you can make us a nice cup of tea.

 

Ashlie: They say it's going to cost a hundred and forty pounds to send out a mechanic!

Stephen: A hundred and forty pounds?

Ashlie: That is it! We've got to learn how to fix that car ourselves. Oh, hey, have a look at this, Stephen: ‘This course is intended to help people who want to save money on car service and repair bills.’

Stephen: Let me have a look. Ah, ‘By the end of the course you will have a good understanding of car electrical systems, wheels, tyres and brakes.’ Hmm, sounds good!

Ashlie: Right. I'm going to call them to find out when the course starts.

 

Ashlie: This was such a good idea, Stephen. Think of all the money we're going to save on car repairs.

Stephen: Yes, but I didn't expect to be in a classroom. I wanted to get my hands dirty and work on real cars.

Ashlie: We will. But first we have to learn some theory. Theory, then practice.

Teacher: So, this is a standard four-stroke engine… So, when the piston, here, reaches the top, the spark plug, here, will ignite the fuel and push the piston back down and then...

Stephen: This is so boring. When do we start with the real work?

Ashlie: This is really useful. You have to know how it works before you can fix it.

Teacher: ...inside here – so this is a water jacket. So that’s what cools down as the piston’s moving up and down, it creates friction, which creates heat. OK. So, out of the exhaust, through the centre-box and then through the rear exhaust.

Stephen: I'm exhausted. When are we going to do some real repairs?

Ashlie: Shh.

Teacher: We're going to take a break now and then we're going to the workshop and we'll look at some brakes, OK?

Stephen: Ah! Finally!

Teacher: OK, we're going to start with some simple checks. They should only take a few minutes to do. I'll show you first and then you can have a go yourselves.

 

Ashlie: We should have done this course years ago. We're going to save so much money.

Stephen: Yeah, this is more like it.

Teacher: OK, well done everyone. Let's have a look at what we've learnt so far. So, who can show me how to check the oil? Ashlie?

Ashlie: Yeah.

Teacher: And how about radiators?

Stephen: Ooh yeah, me. I can do that.

Teacher: Be careful. Be careful!

Ashlie: Stephen! I told you you needed to listen to the theory!